SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A man with a history of violent offences was convicted of sexual assault, forcible confinement and assault with a weapon causing bodily harm in territorial court on Wednesday.

However, Trevor Pangon, 36, was acquitted of three other charges - aggravated assault, forcible confinement and criminal harassment - relating to a separate alleged incident, partly because the Crown prosecutor failed to have a witness identify the accused.

On Thursday, deputy judge Brian Bruser sentenced Pangon to 18 months in jail for raping a woman in her apartment on Feb. 27.

The woman testified that after a night spent drinking and socializing at the residence, Pangon threatened to hurt her if she left her bedroom and assaulted her with his belt. When he went to the bathroom the next morning, she grabbed clothes and ran to a neighbour's.

Due to an omission by the Crown, other charges against Pangon dating back to June 19 were dismissed.

In that case, a woman testified she met Pangon outside the Gold Range bar and he invited her back to a downtown apartment for a drink.

Once they arrived at the apartment, the woman, who is in her 40s, said he asked for sex in exchange for the beer. The woman said she refused and tried to leave but the man grabbed her and began beating her. She said he locked the door, put on rubber gloves and threatened her with a kitchen knife.

"He said if I wasn't willing to have sex he'd cut my clothes off from top to bottom and take it by force," she said.

After four attempts, she said she managed to escape the apartment and immediately ran to the police. The woman cried as she recounted the beating that left her hospitalized in Edmonton for 10 days.

RCMP Const. Jeremiah Donahue said when the woman arrived at the detachment, she was "battered and bruised," her right eye swollen shut, she was bleeding from both eyes, and had a swollen jaw.

After testimony from witnesses, including two RCMP officers and a security guard at Pangon's apartment complex, the Crown's case fell apart.

It came down to whether the complainant's testimony that the accused attacked her was enough to identify him as the person who caused her injuries. Bruser said Crown prosecutor Annabelle Racine never asked the security guard who testified to seeing "Trevor" arrive at the apartment complex to identify "Trevor" in court. Bruser also pointed out the security guard didn't identify the complainant, who was not in court Thursday.

"In the Crown's mind, there was no issue about identification," said Racine, in her closing submissions. She argued the security guard described a woman that fit the complainant's description well enough to remove any doubt.

Defence lawyer Stephen Shabala said there were inconsistencies in the woman's testimony, including her statements that she physically ran into a police cruiser and that her blood splattered on the wall of the apartment - statements he said were contradicted by evidence given by RCMP officers.

Bruser questioned the complainant's testimony but said he generally found her "honest and fair."

Yet he ruled the Crown hadn't established what he called the "foundational evidence" linking the accused to the woman's allegations.

"I have suspicions the identification evidence was suspect but I am also suspicious the accused in front of me performed this attack," Bruser said, before dismissing three charges, and citing identification as a "central issue."

Racine was visibly upset when the case was adjourned for lunch.

Despite the acquittal on one set of charges, Bruser was frank about his belief Pangon was a high risk to society.

"I believe this offender is beyond rehabilitation," he said. "You are a danger to the public and a serious one."

Bruser said Pangon had a "nasty record" that included numerous violent offences. It is the third sexual assault conviction for Pangon, originally from Kugluktuk, Nunavut.

He received two months for his first criminal offence, which happened in 1991. He was convicted of the second in October 2007.

Pangon is already registered on the sex offender registry and will remain listed for the rest of his life. He'll also be banned from possessing a firearm for 10 years. He has been in custody since July.

Shabala said he intends to appeal the latest sexual assault conviction.

"I don't believe the evidence presented a finding of guilt," he said.